Chen Ping’an held his sword in his left hand.

Before him, a great mountain blocked the path.

Earlier, in Immortal Hairpin City, Chen Ping’an’s Daoist dharma form did not employ any swordplay. Instead, he chose to shake the high city with his bare fists, as a reminder to the Third Headmaster of White Jade Capital that they still had an old debt to settle.

Later, Lu Chen painted a “Knowing Picture” of a cicada clinging to a single thread. Was it not a reciprocal gesture, implying to Chen Ping’an that if he wished to successfully deliver a sword on Mount Tuoyue, the Immortal Soldier-grade longsword, Night Wanderer, was still insufficient, and he needed to change to a different one?

This caused Chen Ping’an, within Immortal Hairpin City, to involuntarily recall a scene from his youth. Because he had not deliberately concealed his inner thoughts, Lu Chen, who had borrowed the Daoist magic of a Fourteenth Realm cultivator and could only rely on others, taking refuge within Chen Ping’an’s spirit, saw a slowly unfolding scroll of time. That was the origin of Lu Chen’s later hand-painted “Knowing Picture.”

No matter.

In the future, when journeying through White Jade Capital, even the Daoist Second, lauded as truly invincible, would be justly slain.

Recalling the past, during his first long journey away from home, the young Chen Ping’an, wearing straw sandals and carrying a firewood knife, was accustomed to clearing the path through the mountains for others.

They once faced a towering peak that he later learned was named Mount Sui, and had an exchange.

She asked Chen Ping’an what he would do if a mountain blocked the great path.

At the time, Chen Ping’an’s answer was to climb over it, rather than go around.

She then asked what if he had a sword in hand? Chen Ping’an said he would cleave through the mountain and proceed.

“Together!”

That time, before Chen Ping’an delivered his sword, when both of them uttered those two words in perfect unison.

The longsword in the young man’s hand trembled wildly.

Like a lonely autumn cicada of ten thousand years, singing aloud to Heaven and Earth from the highest branch in the mortal realm.

Before him was Mount Tuoyue, soaring into the clouds. This mountain, after the Great Ancestor of the Savage World obtained one of its Ascension Platforms, had failed to fully refine it. In the end, he only refined it into a middle-grade Natal Treasure, which merged with Mount Tuoyue and the Ascension Platform as if they were in perfect accord. It had stood tall in the world for over ten thousand years.

Currently, the Savage World Great Demon seated on Mount Tuoyue was a yellow-robed man standing atop the peak, bearing the Daoist title of Yuanxiong. He was the first guardian of Mount Tuoyue in its history. During the years when his master vanished, he was responsible for guarding this world. As the eldest disciple of the Savage World Great Ancestor, and the senior brother of Xinzhuang and Lizhen, Yuanxiong was little-known. Firstly, he rarely left Mount Tuoyue. Secondly, he never appeared in the Jiazi Account or the Vast Expanse World. As a result, the entire Savage World simply acted as if this eldest disciple of the Great Ancestor did not exist.

At this moment, Yuanxiong stood at the highest point of Mount Tuoyue, his hands clasped behind his back, looking down at the young Hidden Officer holding a sword in one hand, and then glancing at the sword cultivators arrayed in the four directions. “Let them just unleash their swords.”

This Great Demon at the peak of the Ascension Realm truly did not believe that this last Hidden Official of the Sword Qi Great Wall could cut out anything of significance.

Unless these four sword cultivators, all from the Sword Qi Great Wall, could unleash over ten thousand swords, and each sword had to be successful, capable of cleaving through mountains every time.

The Great Demon Yuanxiong had merged with Mount Tuoyue for over ten thousand years.

That was why he lived in seclusion, never showing his face.

How many years had the young Chen Ping’an been a pure sword cultivator? How many years had he merged with half of the Sword Qi Great Wall?

The only thing that Yuanxiong and the past guardians of Mount Tuoyue had to do with the outside world was secretly collecting the souls of Dragon Lord and Guanzhao.

Ten thousand years ago, in that sword duel, Chen Qingdu paid the price of losing his Natal Flying Sword, “Duckweed.”

That battle, which was not recorded at all by Mount Tuoyue or the Sword Qi Great Wall, as to why the three sword cultivators drew their swords, the process of drawing their swords, and the eventual outcome, had no written record. Otherwise, cultivators from any world today, whether they were sword cultivators or not, would feel a surge of sword qi rushing toward them as soon as they casually flipped through that page of the old almanac.

Within tens of thousands of miles of Mount Tuoyue, the world was turned upside down, mountains and rivers were shattered, and the area was forcibly turned into an uninhabitable land unsuitable for cultivation by the sword qi.

Mount Tuoyue was directly sliced in half by Dragon Lord, which led to the subsequent rise of Immortal Hairpin City, surpassing it to become the tallest city in the Savage World.

Guanzhao’s last sword before his death cleaved out the prototype of the Yieluo River in later generations of the Savage World.

At the same time, Chen Qingdu’s sword shattered the Ascension Platform’s path to ascension. The greater consequence was that Chen Qingdu prevented the Savage World Great Ancestor from reaching the Fifteenth Realm even after ten thousand years, always just one step away.

He ended up being mocked by the Old Blind Man with the quip “Maybe his aptitude for cultivation is just not good enough.”

Dragon Lord lost one soul and two spirits. Whether it was at the Hall of Heroes deliberations or on the battlefield of the Sword Qi Great Wall, Dragon Lord only appeared in a bleak image wearing a gray robe. Furthermore, his head was casually trampled underfoot by Bai Ying, the Great Demon of the Old Throne, who occupied the Throne of Dried Bones, and whose true identity was Zhou Mi’s Yang God body.

And Lizhen’s predecessor, the sword cultivator Guanzhao, suffered an even worse fate than Dragon Lord. He truly died and his Dao was extinguished. His true form had already been completely annihilated after that sword duel, and his souls scattered between heaven and earth. Later, the guardian of Mount Tuoyue searched for the most crucial soul and spirit, and then patched together the remaining souls to create the armored warrior of the New Heavenly Court.

So, when the Sword Qi Great Wall was divided in two by the Savage World Great Ancestor back then, Chen Qingdu, Dragon Lord, and Guanzhao, in a sense, were actually having an extremely strange reunion after a long separation.

Qi Tingji took out a standard longsword made by a sword workshop from his sleeve, wanting to deliver the first sword with it, paying respects from afar to the Eldest Sword Immortal, as well as the two seniors, Dragon Lord and Guanzhao, from ten thousand years ago.

Ning Yao held one of the four Immortal Swords, Innocence.

After the Executioner Hao Su sacrificed his Natal Flying Sword, within a hundred miles, it was as if a bright moon mirror was laid horizontally on the ground. The moon goddess in the sky, and frost covering the ground. Only Hao Su stood within it.

Lu Zhi was unwilling to part with the swords South Sea and Ease, and besides, these two swords were not suitable for cleaving mountains. Even if they were to be cleaved until the blades curled up and the longswords broke, they had to be left for last. Transformed from the Dao swords South Sea and Ease, Lu Zhi stood on the South Sea Heavenly Pool formation, which the Daoists called “Heavenly Heart Abbot.” And there was also a green fish born from the “Having Ease to Spare.” Drawing upon the water energy within, she took out the longsword Cicada Armor. It was the remains of a White Jade Capital Ascension Realm female cultivator of high attainment. To pursue more chances to deliver a sword, Lu Zhi had to endure the awkwardness in her heart and clothe herself in it. Instantly, they were in perfect accord, as if granted divine power. Lu Zhi had already mastered two superior Daoist magics of White Jade Capital.
She pondered again, then retrieved the familiar Autumn Water and Mountain Carver swords from White Flower City, along with the Mountain Wood and Carved Intent, suspending them at her side for easy access. Once all eight swords were drawn from the box, Lu Zhi unleashed their full potential, forming a sword array reminiscent of the Daoist Sword Immortal lineage. It was more than just offensive and defensive; it was a self-operating mobile world, akin to a Daoist Saint carrying a Daoist temple on a journey, or a military strategist carrying an entire battlefield relic.

She nodded, confirming her previous assessment: Lu Chen’s Daoist techniques were indeed intriguing.

The demon cultivators of Mount Tuoyue, both on the mountain and below, were on edge. In battles where only Ascended Realm cultivators were worthy of showing their faces, any interference meant certain death. If Mount Tuoyue held, all would be well, but failure meant waiting for annihilation.

Chen Pingan clenched his long sword, silently chanting in his heart: “Let us open the mountains together!”

Encountering Immortal Hairpin City, he would raze it. Encountering the Dragging River, he would pull it.

So, encountering Mount Tuoyue, naturally, he would move the mountain!

Chen Pingan manifested his ten-thousand-foot Dharma Body.

With a single strike, he cleaved open the River of Time Array.

Furthermore, four sword lights from Qi Tingji, Ning Yao, Lu Zhi, and Hao Su joined forces, collectively striking Mount Tuoyue.

After the strike, the Great Demon Lord at the mountain’s peak shattered, only to instantly reassemble, as if the swords had missed entirely, never touching Mount Tuoyue.

The barbaric demon cultivators, forced to watch from the sidelines, hadn’t even begun to cheer for the Demon Lord’s extraordinary abilities when they realized that within the mountain, countless sword energies filled the air like rainbows. Sword energy poured from the peak like a waterfall, and surged from the base like a reversed flood. There was nowhere to hide, nowhere to escape. Instantly, over a hundred demon sword cultivators, save for a few Immortals with life-saving measures, along with all within the Jade Purity Realm, were instantly annihilated, transformed into the heaven and earth spiritual energy absorbed by Mount Tuoyue.

Only then did the few Immortal Realm demons visiting Mount Tuoyue belatedly realize why the direct disciples of Mount Tuoyue were nowhere to be seen. It seemed the Demon Lord had foreseen this mountain-opening calamity brought about by the sword cultivators.

After a dozen or so sword strikes, aside from the Demon Lord at the peak and a handful of remaining Immortals, no other cultivators remained alive within the mountain.

The Demon Lord, repeatedly struck by the young Hidden Official’s sword, remained unmoving. This peak Ascended Realm demon, with a transcendent demeanor, faced death ten times over.

Mount Tuoyue was like a cultivator with ten thousand years of accumulated cultivation, only able to be moved after being opened up ten thousand times.

If the Demon Lord was temporarily invincible, then the sword-wielder in the Demon Lord’s view possessed an even higher state of being – invincible with the sword in hand.

The Demon Lord glanced, intentionally or unintentionally, at the young Hidden Official’s golden eyes.

Lu Chen stood within the Lotus Dojo, eyes wide, looking around and shouting in his mind: “Hey, hey, is that ‘One’ really you? This is Lu Chen, toiling so hard, shamelessly clinging to Chen Pingan, just waiting for today to ask you a question. Is this a dream only for me, Lu Chen? Or is the world dreaming for you alone? Don’t be silent; I can assure you, you’ve heard me!”

If the tens of thousands of people for the past ten thousand years were all the dream of one person? Not only was Chen Pingan that ‘One’, but in fact, all sentient beings in the human world for ten thousand years were that ‘One’, then what was the meaning of my, Lu Chen’s, cultivation? If, outside the dream, there was no ascent to heaven for humanity, and no collapse of the Heavenly Dao?

Chen Pingan’s first disciple in opening the mountain, Pei Qian, only learned afterward that the tall building in Old Chef’s mind was modeled after the Jade Capital of Qingming Heaven.

On the journey away from the Lotus Blessed Land, Chen Pingan once inadvertently asked the four people in the painting a question. Only Zhu Lian persisted to the end, saying that even if killing one person could save the world, he still wouldn’t do it, because he feared he might be that ‘One’. That year, when Zhu Lian returned to the Fallen Mountain with the Fox Kingdom Lord Pei Xiang, Zhu Lian inexplicably said on a high slope of Chess Mound Mountain that waking from a dream was like jumping off a cliff. He said he was becoming increasingly uncertain about his reality and the reality of the world. He said Pei Xiang couldn’t give him the answer, and finally Zhu Lian pointed to the distance, saying that the answer had to come from someone he trusted, for him to believe it.

The real reason Lu Chen was willing to lend Chen Pingan his Daoist techniques was to have the seed of that ‘One’ solve his doubts!

No matter what answer that existence gave, as long as he was willing to speak, whether it was affirmation or denial, Lu Chen had his own means. Regardless of which answer he received, he could make it the most important awakening, a dream awakening dreams.

But Lu Chen’s inquiry was ignored.

It seemed there was no ‘One’ on Chen Pingan at all.

Lu Chen was somewhat saddened, “Are you looking down on a Fourteenth Realm cultivator this much?”

Or was it that Chen Pingan was suppressing that ‘One’?

The sea bridge that once spanned between Eastern Treasure Bottle Continent and Northern Ju Lu Continent had been dismantled to avoid confusing the two continents’ fortunes.

A young Daoist boy and a tall old Daoist were traveling together across the sea, leaving the territory of Dragon Province.

The old abbot glanced back at the land of Treasure Bottle Continent. “This embroidered tiger has indeed performed a truly heaven-supporting feat for Confucianism.”

“Rather than let Zhou Mi succeed, it’s better for Chen Pingan to accept his fate.”

The Dao Ancestor smiled. “Let him claim this ‘One’. As a caged bird, choosing to maneuver within the cage for a year means a year of imprisonment. If he could maneuver for ten thousand years, it would be ten thousand years of imprisonment.”

The old abbot laughed, “Maneuver? I’ve maneuvered with myself for a long time.”

It was like making Zhou Mi, who was vying for that ‘One’, spin in place, getting lost in the same labyrinth as Chen Pingan.

Cui Chan and Qi Jingchun allowed Zhou Mi to ascend to heaven and take over the ruins of the old Heavenly Court, a setup to lure him into a trap.

They hadn’t expected that there was another unique prison in this world, waiting for Zhou Mi.

The lineage of the Literary Saint, three brothers.

All ruthless to themselves.

Why was this so?

Perhaps all three of them held onto a hope for this world.

It wasn’t that the world was beautiful enough to inspire hope, but precisely because the world was not beautiful enough, with no small matters in the human realm, that it needed more hope.

The old abbot asked curiously, “Zhou Mi instructed that Demon Lord, foolishly standing still with Mount Tuoyue, letting Chen Pingan chop it ten thousand times with his sword, just for the divinity that dispersed and was lost with each sword strike?”
The Taoist Ancestor nodded, “When dealing with clever people, sometimes only the most foolish methods can work wonders.”

As long as Chen Pingan believes he is a swordsman, he is destined to be unable to avoid that Mount Tuoyue.

The Old Abbot scooped up a handful of water, gently swirling it in his palm, using it to gauge the weight of the Rites Sage and the present-day rituals and rules of the Magnificent World, “Regardless of whether Chen Pingan can move the mountain or not, the peak cultivators of several worlds will witness this process. In this way, Chen Pingan may become the target of public criticism even before Yu Dou.”

Wu Shuangjiang once gave Taoist Er, Yu Dou, a prophecy: If the sovereign does not cultivate virtue, the path he takes leads to death.

Because all those within the boat are enemies.

The Old Abbot sneered, “Ancient meritorious sages established great deeds, achieved supreme transformation, seized the world, and won it through the hearts of the people. The current Zhou Mi seeks to seize the world from the heavens, with human lives as the cost.”

The Taoist Ancestor smiled and asked, “What do you think this Hao Ran scholar, Jia Sheng, was thinking when he crossed the Sword Qi Great Wall that year?”

The Old Abbot casually replied, “Probably something like ‘Fate and time are against me, the world cannot tolerate me.’ This scholar’s ambition is higher than the heavens, so the only path left is to ascend to the heavens. I suspect that not long after the Sword Qi Great Wall, Zhou Mi must have looked up at the sky, convinced that the high place was where his heart belonged.”

The Old Abbot released his hand, letting the water in his palm return to the sea, “If Chen Pingan really moves the mountain and slays the chief culprit, will he inscribe words on the city wall? What words will he inscribe? ‘Ping’, ‘An’? Adding the ‘Chen’ that Chen Xi carved earlier, if he can slay another Ascendant Realm, tsk tsk, if this kid assembles his full name, just by this deed alone, for the next ten thousand years, his name Chen Pingan will probably be even greater than Yu Dou’s. It’s not all selfishness; it will help the Sword Qi Great Wall ruins be mentioned more and longer by later Qi cultivators.”

There is a saying circulating on the mountains: To have the past completely forgotten by the world is another kind of death after death.

The Taoist Ancestor shook his head, “If he really carves a word, it will only be the ‘萍’ (Ping – duckweed) of floating duckweed.”

The Old Abbot nodded.

The Taoist Ancestor suddenly said, “Say Zhou Mi’s name less often; it’s easy to talk when you’re not the one suffering.”

The Old Abbot gave a free and easy smile.

Golden Arch Bridge.

Ruan Xiu looked at the distant traveling sword light in the boundless void beyond the heavens. The stars were as small as grains of mustard seed scattered on the ground, countless in number. Some were densely packed together, forming magnificent galaxies of radiant light. The unparalleled sword light traveled through them, like sparks struck from stone, like a white steed flashing past a crack. The speed of the sword light was even faster than the flow of the river of time.

Zhou Mi, on the other hand, narrowed his eyes and looked down upon the mortal realm.

Li Zhen leaned on the railing, blinking his eyes, “Huh, why has the river changed its course? Is this… unprecedented?”

Zhou Mi smiled slightly, “Taking pleasure in the misfortune of others in their presence is not a good habit.”

Li Zhen turned to look at Zhou Mi. Even knowing him inside and out, another glance and one can’t help but admire this “old fox who can reach the heavens” who devoured the rhyme master Lu Fayan, and the sea of culture that encompasses the entire world, a little more.

Li Zhen retracted his gaze, looking beyond the Golden Arch Bridge.

In the eyes of high-ranking deities, the river of time is like the mountain and river energy in a Qi-gazing technique, omnipresent except for their own divine golden bodies.

But in the eyes of the supreme deities, it is a different scene, like a wall-less house composed of countless tiny units. A single movement causes billions to shift, seemingly ordered but actually disordered.

However, the four of the five supreme beings, excluding the Lord of Heaven, knew very well that within the great disorder of the primordial chaos, there was actually a hidden, unique order.

Ten thousand years ago, whether one could join the ranks of the ancient high-ranking deities depended on whether one could personally see that which could no longer be divided.

And each brief, orderly trajectory, similar to a tributary bed of the river of time, is a type of supernatural power, what later generations of human Qi cultivators call Dao arts that are in harmony with heaven and earth.

In several worlds, the cultivators who later ascended the mountains, every Dao art and immortal technique recorded in books or memorized in their hearts followed this principle of the Heavenly Dao. Every written word in the books, every thought and spoken word, was a precise anchor point, attempting to create a unique existence.

However, in the eyes of the supreme deities, the actions of the mortal cultivators were still just a form of carving a mark on a boat while seeking one’s sword – the boat drifting along with the water, dragging the anchors cast into the water, moving slowly. Hence, it was difficult to prove immortality, impossible to coexist with heaven and earth.

Within the river of time, there is no ship that can completely stop and hover.

Therefore, naturally, there is no such thing as a matter or thing that is intrinsically justified.

“Qi Jingchun studied at the Lizhu Grotto Heaven Academy for sixty years; what he truly sought was this matter, this thing.”

Zhou Mi seemed to be talking to himself, “The so-called convergence of the three teachings, trying to establish a religion and claim ancestry? That underestimates Qi Jingchun’s ambition too much. But unfortunately, it goes against my path, not a kindred spirit.”

What Qi Jingchun truly sought was to hope that the mortal world would first emerge with a small group, and then lead a large number of cultivators, as if re-attempting to ascend to heaven, so that both those at the foot of the mountain and in the mortal world would be without worries, and those who ascend the mountain would become travelers beyond the heavens, truly pursuing the Great Dao. This is in harmony with his senior brother Cui Chan’s “pursuit of a larger chessboard.”

However, the first “one” that started operating was always in the hands of the former Lord of the Old Heavenly Court.

What the Taoist Ancestor was seeking was this “one,” ultimately named “Dao” by him.

He had sought it, even seen it with his own eyes, but with the Taoist Ancestor’s Dao arts, he was still unable to capture it in his hands; it was fleeting.

The Taoist Ancestor had seen it a total of three times, even witnessed the earliest operation of the Great Dao brought about by that “one.” Hence, Taoism has the saying that “three give rise to all things.”

It was a scene that surpassed the extreme of cultivators’ imaginations, both magnificent and terrifying, both simple and profound, impossible to depict its form, impossible to express its beauty.

It transcended all existence and non-existence, size and smallness, reality and illusion. All words in the world became obstacles to understanding its mysteries.

Whether it was the Taoist Ancestor or the Buddha, in order to pass on the Dao to later generations, to speak of its source, they could not but establish writing, yet they could not explain its meaning in detail with writing, because the more words there were, the farther one would be from it.

Zhou Mi turned to look at the woman standing on the railing.

Then, following her gaze, he saw the desolate world, the White Flower City that had been completely reduced to ruins.

Li Zhen clicked her tongue in wonder, “As expected of my most admired Hidden Official Lord; where he passes, not a blade of grass grows.”

That sect master whose Yin Spirit was forcibly dissolved not only fell from the Immortal realm, but even the Jade Purity realm was teetering on the brink. This kind of damage to the root of the Great Dao is not something that can be easily resolved by spending decades or centuries refining one’s cultivation.
Braving the immense risk of being caught in a trap, it stealthily returned to the sect’s mountain peak. After confirming that Qi Tingji and Lu Zhi had indeed embarked on a distant journey, it gathered its old subordinates, only to find that they were truly just useless cannon fodder. It roamed through several treasuries, and finally sat on the steps near the mountain gate, its heart aching. Its sect’s title was likely beyond saving.

These sword immortals from the Great Wall of Sword Qi were each more ruthless than the last.

They were ruthless in battle, but even more ruthless in looting.

It had only heard that the young Hidden Official, in the battlefields of the Great Wall of Sword Qi, was able to “know when to stop” even with the eyes of many old kings upon him.

But it had never heard that Qi Tingji and Lu Zhi were so greedy.

Meanwhile, in another Mountain Market, a site of ancient battlefields, a female ghost in the Golden Core realm, who had narrowly escaped two great calamities from Ning Yao’s sword delivery and Qi Tingji’s summoning banner and thunderous bamboo forest, was overjoyed to discover that she had inexplicably conceived a natal flying sword while examining a pill chamber!

Within the pill chamber, there was a miniature flying sword embryo, shaped like a green bamboo, beautiful as bamboo, slender and graceful, with faint thundercloud patterns on its joints.

It was as if every sip and morsel were preordained by fate.

She suddenly knelt on the ground and kowtowed nine resounding times, first towards the place where Ning Yao had delivered her sword in mid-air, and then towards the mountain peak where Qi Tingji had stood.

This was already a grand apprenticeship ceremony in the Wilderness World.

This female ghost, using the alias “Coriander,” made two wishes in her heart, sincerely promising them to this world while kowtowing.

When Ning Yao first drew her sword, Coriander had actually prepared to offer her neck for execution, standing still in place. However, for some reason, the sword qi seemed to have received its master’s decree and bypassed her.

As for revenge?

In this lawless battlefield ruins, there were fierce battles and mutual hatred almost every day. Even among the hundreds of ghost spirits under her command, who didn’t bear a grudge against her?

A line of sword cultivators passed through a great mountain range, remaining safe and sound.

Mountain Lord Biwu, in his study, took out a forbidden map of the Wilderness World, privately drawn by him. The abundance of qi and fortune of various sects and mountains would light up on the map with varying degrees of brilliance. Biwu was surprised to find that White Flower City, Cloud Pattern Dynasty, and Immortal Hairpin City had all dimmed to varying degrees on the map. White Flower City was almost completely dark, while Immortal Hairpin City was divided in two.

His friend, whose Daoist name was Slender Plum, was currently traveling in Immortal Hairpin City. He wondered if anything unexpected would happen.

In Biwu’s mountain god shrine, he secretly enshrined nearly twenty natal lamps. On the mountain, this signified a life-or-death relationship.

This showed that Mountain Lord Biwu had a good reputation in this Wilderness World.

Many demon cultivators trusted Qingshan Biwu more than their own sect’s ancestral hall.

This was why Biwu was so nervous when facing Ning Yao’s ascent to the mountain. He was truly afraid that Ning Yao would break the shrine’s mountain and water restrictions with a single word and shatter the shrine along with the natal lamps.

Once the shrine was shattered by Ning Yao, the natal lamps closely linked to the qi of Great Yue Mountain would inevitably be exposed.

Such a series of battle achievements, one immortal, nine Jade Purity realm cultivators, and the rest at least Earth Immortals, all their natal lamps, once destroyed, would at least cause each to fall by one realm. Added together, it would be comparable to the merit of killing a Soaring Ascension realm cultivator.

Logically speaking, the Summer Palace of the Great Wall of Sword Qi should have heard of this matter and recorded it long ago.

The Sword Immortal Ning might not be aware of this, but Chen Ping’an, who had served as the Hidden Official for many years, definitely knew this inside story.

So Biwu couldn’t understand why the young Hidden Official, who was the most astute and calculating, was willing to let go of Qingshan when he clearly passed by this place.

Biwu thought for a moment and walked out of the house to another place, standing under an old plum tree. Fortunately, the natal lamp in the shrine was unharmed, and the tree in front of him had not withered.

This meant that his old friend Slender Plum had not only survived but also seemed to have suffered no loss in his cultivation.

Without a breeze, the ancient tree swayed gracefully, and then the figure of a cultivator emerged. Biwu clasped his fists and smiled, “Daoist Slender Plum.”

It was the old cultivator with the Daoist name Slender Plum from the Dragon Gate side of Immortal Hairpin City. He gasped for breath, not concealing his shock and lingering fear, “When I was standing on top of the Dragon Gate Archway earlier, the young Hidden Official stretched out his finger and just pointed, and the second seat consecrator of Immortal Hairpin City beside me exploded on the spot, leaving nothing of his Golden Core or nascent soul. That was a Jade Purity realm cultivator, without any ability to resist, not even able to cast any escape techniques.”

Biwu was somewhat puzzled.

The old cultivator waved his hand, “Don’t ask anything.”

The Mountain Lord smiled and nodded.

Then the old cultivator solemnly said, “Mountain Lord Biwu, I have to immediately embark on a distant journey. It’s a hasty matter, and I’m afraid I need to borrow that train from you for a while.”

Biwu didn’t ask why and unhesitatingly lent the carriage to his friend. With a wave of his hand, the vehicle of immortal soldier rank immediately flew from the backyard of the mountain top shrine, the size of a palm, with flames rising and electricity intertwined. Biwu gently pushed it and simultaneously imparted a mantra for driving the train to his friend through telepathy.

The old cultivator smiled bitterly, “Mountain Lord Biwu, if something unexpected happens, I won’t be able to afford to compensate, even if I give up my life.”

Biwu laughed, “If you encounter an accident on this trip to Mount Tuoyue, Daoist Slender Plum, just give up the item to save your life. Don’t talk about compensation. Just consider that Qingshan’s缘分(fate, affinity) with this treasure has ended.”

The old cultivator stomped his foot and didn’t say anything more courteous. He drove the train and set off for Mount Tuoyue, according to the agreement with the young Hidden Official, to deliver a message to Fei Ran.

Mountain Lord Biwu walked to the Manjusri Temple, stringing prayer beads along the way, and piously offered three incense sticks.

The capital of the Cloud Pattern Dynasty.

Soaring Ascension realm great cultivator Ye Pu returned to Jade Tablet City with the female martial artist Bai Ren.

A treasure vault in the imperial palace suffered unbearable damage.
A significant portion of the Cloud-Pattern Dynasty’s capital officials’ wealth, treasures accumulated over generations by families with high-ranking positions in the court and cultivators, was completely plundered. Some of the oldest, most carefully hoarded coins, likely dating back to the Dynasty’s founding, which had escaped the grasp of emperors throughout history, were unfortunately emptied out by two Sword Immortals from the Great Wall of Sword Qi who hadn’t exchanged their lives for new thrones. Refusal was impossible; the slightest hesitation brought a flash of sword light.

At that moment, within the capital’s court, many elderly cultivators, caught off guard and unable to don their official robes, were beating their chests in anguish. Some female cultivators holding prominent positions were weeping, both sides hoping the Emperor would help them seek justice.

Ye Pu, having lost a sword array, grew increasingly irritable. Within Jade Tablet City, he, the Emperor, was actually the one most severely weakened.

Bai Ren’s face was ashen, her lips trembling. Her fists were clenched. Previously, in the corridor of the high-rise building where the sword array was located, she had been struck in the forehead by Chen Ping’an, disguised as a Daoist, and directly knocked out of the capital, falling from a Perfected Martial Artist to the Mountain Peak realm!

She glanced at a woman shamelessly flirting with Ye Pu in private, took a step forward, and delivered a direct punch to the head, followed by several more that completely annihilated the Golden Core Fox Demon.

Bai Ren waved her sleeve, dispersing the foxy odor, and turned to coldly stare at the unprepared onlookers. She fabricated a reason, “Daring to collude with foreign sword cultivators, attempting to plot a coup, courting death!”

Ye Pu, seated on the dragon throne, nodded. “Then all family property shall be confiscated for public use.”

Recovering even a little was better than nothing.

Wine Spring Sect.

The Sect Master, Daoist name Lingyou, was a seasoned Celestial Realm cultivator. The old Sect Master and the Jade Purity Realm Law Enforcement Ancestor, Mishi, left the mountain peak together, riding the wind to the tavern.

The shopkeeper handed over the Lesser Heat Coin left behind by Lu Zhi, and the old Sword Immortal Qi Tingji’s Grain Rain Coin.

Lingyou accepted the two Immortal Coins with a smile.

Mishi looked worried and hesitated to speak, seemingly disagreeing with the old Sect Master’s acceptance of the Immortal Coins.

Lingyou chuckled and said, “Don’t complain if the gruel is thin. A mosquito’s leg is still meat, especially when there’s also a Grain Rain Coin.”

Mishi sat at a table. Although she wasn’t skilled in combat, she didn’t care much about the so-called tragic scene at the tavern, not even slightly surprised. In the Wilderness World, what did this scene amount to? She took out a pot of her own brewed wine from her sleeve, took a sip of the celestial brew, and asked in a mental voice, “Wine Spring Sect accepted these two Immortal Coins intentionally left behind by Qi Tingji and Lu Zhi. Will Crescent Moon Mountain pursue this matter afterward, deliberately using the two Immortal Coins as an excuse to make trouble for us? To put it mildly, it’s Wine Spring Sect being incompetent, unable to stop them. To put it seriously, it’s colluding with the remnants of the Great Wall of Sword Qi, is that a sin we can afford?”

Lingyou still looked unconcerned, stroking his beard and smiling. “Gold and silver never weigh down the hand, and Immortal Coins don’t bite. We must trust in Sword Immortal Feiran’s magnanimity, right?”

Mishi frowned. “We are originally a small sect. I don’t believe that these Sword Immortals, deep in the Wilderness World, are just here to drink a few pots of wine at our Wine Spring Sect.”

The old Sect Master kicked away the remnants of limbs at his feet, sat on the long bench, stroked his beard, and pondered for a moment. “We’ll see if any other major sects have suffered as well. If there are, then Wine Spring Sect is fine. If there aren’t, it’s precarious. Let’s just hope that there are big cultivators and major sects who can help Wine Spring Sect share the burden.”

The old Sect Master poured himself a bowl of wine, laughing and saying, “How can one act like this? Too unkind.”

Soon, flying sword messages arrived from the sect. The old Immortal pinched the flying sword and sighed. “Ye Pu’s Jade Tablet City was plundered by Qi Tingji and Lu Zhi. As for Immortal Hairpin City…it was directly cut in two by a Hidden Official who transformed into a Daoist. As for whether it was Chen Ping’an, there’s no definite saying. Wandering cultivators who scattered from Immortal Hairpin City are certain that it was the young Hidden Official. The Ancestral Hall of Immortal Hairpin City…forget it, there’s no Ancestral Hall anymore, it seems to have been smashed.”

“It must be Chen Ping’an without a doubt.”

“I just don’t know if this Hidden Official has passed through here before.”

Hearing this, Mishi asked in confusion, “Why must it be him?”

The old Immortal swirled the wine in his bowl. “Only the Hidden Official of the Great Wall of Sword Qi can mobilize Qi Tingji, Ning Yao, and Lu Zhi to follow him on a long journey, delivering swords in the Wilderness World.”

Mishi suddenly understood. “That’s indeed the logic.”

The old Immortal stroked his beard and smiled. “It seems that Wine Spring Sect still has great face.”

Ah Liang, Qi Tingji, Lu Zhi. And if we can add the last Hidden Official, Chen Ping’an?

Mishi drank the wine, turned to look at the already desolate street outside. “I wonder if I’ll ever get to meet Mi Yu.”

Mishi had long heard the name of this sword cultivator who shared her surname, but had never met him.

Lingyou glanced at the Law Enforcement cultivator with her beautiful appearance and teased, “What do you want to meet Mi Waist-Splitter for? Your waist is so slender, it can’t withstand a few of his swords.”

Mishi took a large gulp of wine and laughed. “I’ve only heard of exhausted oxen, but never of fields ruined by plowing.”

The old Immortal suddenly understood, touched his alcohol-reddened nose, and inexplicably sighed. “I suddenly miss Ah Liang’s lewd jokes at the dinner table.”

Immortal Hairpin City.

Deputy City Lord Yinlu himself didn’t know why he was spared from death, but one of his souls and one of his spirits were detained by that person using a secret technique, causing the Immortal Yinlu to fall to the Jade Purity Realm.

The two halves of the formerly claimed to be the tallest city in the world are now separated by two landscape talismans, hundreds of miles apart, unable to be reassembled.

Moreover, even if Yinlu had the ability, he would never dare to restore Immortal Hairpin City to its original appearance. The newly appointed City Lord, already scared out of his wits, felt that even though he was also in the fourteenth realm, he would be like paper in front of that person.

Ye Luo River waters.

Feifei, ignoring the damage to her Great Dao, relied on that aura to immediately shrink the earth and rivers, arriving under a tree. Enduring the discomfort in her heart, she was somewhat awkward, imitating the women down the mountain and performing a respectful curtsy. “Feifei greets Mister Bai.”

Even when discussing matters in the Hall of Valor, facing high-ranking thrones like Grand Ancestor of Crescent Moon Mountain and Wen Hai’s Zhou Mi, she had never been so affected and artificial.

Bai Ze took a step forward, landing on the ground, standing beside Feifei, and shook his head. “Just call my name.”
Bai Ze turned his head to look at Consort Fei, his crimson eyes seeming to be filled with hopeful gazes.

Bai Ze asked, “Shouldn’t you be filled with hatred?”

Consort Fei’s face was ashen, her beauty faded. She grinned, raised the back of her hand to wipe away the bloodstains on her face, and shook her head, “I dare not, nor will I ever.”

Bai Ze moved forward slowly, and Consort Fei immediately followed, not daring to walk shoulder to shoulder with this “greatest traitor” of the barbaric world. She lagged behind by half a body length.

“The opportunity that originally belonged to Yang Zhi, I’ll give it to you as well.”

Bai Ze said in his heart, “But you must promise me one thing. If, and I mean if, you and Yang Zhi have a chance to meet again in the future, don’t think about killing Yang Zhi. Let her live, and allow her to walk the path of the Great Dao. How about that? Can you do it?”

Consort Fei thought for a moment and nodded, “Since Mister Bai has spoken, Consort Fei can certainly do it.”

In fact, there are two types of Great Dao contention between Consort Fei and Yang Zhi. One is the struggle for the water fortune of the barbaric world, and the other is more hidden, because Consort Fei’s Great Dao root lies in a battle between water and fire.

So in Bai Ze’s view, the height of Consort Fei’s Great Dao is one step higher than Yang Zhi’s.

Bai Ze said, “Then remember well. I will only say the Dao mantra once. It’s a little cultivation trick I figured out in my spare time many years ago, about four thousand words.”

“The Great Dao of Hongmeng, the Yin and Yang of the sun and moon, the six lines and eight trigrams…Thousands of words, the body of the Spiritual Treasure, lies only in Kan and Li. To complete the acquired, the muddy water golden elixir, to regulate the heat, the heaven and earth are endless…”

“Yang fire and Yin talisman are closely linked, capturing the sun and moon of the year. Stars are arranged like the outline of the Dao, and the restless mind and the wandering thoughts discuss cultivation. Water nourishes the spiritual smoke, and fire nourishes the spiritual spring. The black pearl first emerges from the water, and the volcano burns empty. The mysterious pearl flashes with lightning and thunder, reversing the Yellow River and encircling the Xuanji. White snow and yellow sprouts match Kan and Li, refining heaven and earth in the pot…”

Bai Ze only said the Dao mantra once. As an old sovereign demon, it was not difficult for Consort Fei to remember the words. What was commendable was that Consort Fei had some understanding during the recitation, which led to the resonance of the broken water fortune of the Yiluo River with the heaven and earth.

“The Great Dao is mysterious and subtle, and the art of longevity cannot be known without a master’s guidance.”

At the height of Consort Fei’s mountain peak, it is actually difficult for anyone to guide her cultivation.

Bai Ze was an exception.

Consort Fei once again sincerely performed a Wanfu ceremony, thanking Bai Ze, who had the grace of imparting the Dao.

Bai Ze just remained silent.

Consort Fei was worried, “Mister Bai, has our barbaric world fallen to such a state that we can only allow a few sword immortals to scurry around?”

Bai Ze shook his head, “Mount Tuoyue needs to encircle and kill A Liang and Zuo You, so they can’t take care of Chen Ping’an and his party for the time being. And they rely on the Three Mountains Talisman to appear and disappear unpredictably in the hinterland of the barbaric world, which can be regarded as a not-so-small accident.”

The top combat power of the two worlds, Mount Tuoyue and the Central Earth Confucian Temple, had each made arrangements long ago. The two sides performed their duties. During this period, except for the Fire Dragon Real Person who went on a long trip alone, using both water and fire techniques, the rest of the mountain peak cultivators of the Vast World did not act on their own according to their own preferences.

Like the side of Qing Ji, there was Zheng Juzhong of Baidi City, the female martial deity Pei Bei of Dazhuan, Huai Yin, one of the top ten of Central Earth, and the Ascended Realm demon clan, Guo Oouting of Iron Tree Mountain, as well as Liu Tui of Tianyao Township in Floating Ripple Continent and the female immortal Cong Qian of Flowing Rosy Continent. No one made any extra moves, but followed the established agenda of the Confucian Temple’s deliberations and acted step by step according to the rules. The immortal cultivators of the Vast World no longer dared to act arbitrarily, because there was already a lesson from the past. If immortals were so cautious, then there was no need to mention Jade Purity Realm cultivators.

Consort Fei asked carefully, “Can Mister Bai take it a step further?”

Whether he could merge with the barbaric world and ascend to the legendary Fifteenth Realm.

Unfortunately, Bai Ze turned a deaf ear and did not give Consort Fei the answer she wanted.

Consort Fei did not ask any more questions.

Bai Ze was silent for a moment, and mocked himself, “Don’t think that with one more me, the barbaric world can really do anything.”

Consort Fei said, “It is enough for Mister Bai to be at home.”

In her opinion, there were only three cultivators in the world who had the most hope of becoming a brand new Fifteenth Realm.

The Rite Sage who set the rules for the Vast World.

The missing Grand Master of Bai Yujing.

And Bai Ze, who returned to the barbaric world.

Bai Ze suddenly showed a smile. When he traveled to Treasure Bottle Continent with his maid Qing Ying, someone had teased him, of course, it was a harmless joke.

“If a fox travels with me, it must be my fault.”

At that time, Bai Ze replied, “The snow is vast, and the caged bird flies high.”

Consort Fei was suddenly shocked. She immediately turned her head to look in the direction of Mount Tuoyue. Even with her utmost effort, she could not see the outline of the mountain, but the atmosphere that involved a world made Consort Fei feel a sense of suffocation as if she was being implicated. “Mister Bai, is this?”

Bai Ze’s pace slowed down slightly, his expression calm, and he revealed the secret to Consort Fei in one sentence, “Someone is opening Mount Tuoyue with a sword.”

A moment later.

Chen Ping’an alone had delivered three thousand swords, which meant that the mastermind had died three thousand times.

Bai Ze did not seem to care about the safety of Mount Tuoyue. He suddenly looked up at the bright moon that used to hang in the center of the sky.

Five sword cultivators, plus Lu Chen, were not only moving the mountain, but also dragging the moon.

This was not surprising. Bai Ze had already sensed something in the Ascended Realm moon of Criminal Officer Hao Su. That moon seemed to be the cultivation place of the little girl She Yue.

But what surprised Bai Ze was that Chen Ping’an seemed to be determined to rely on himself to move the mountain with his sword and kill the peak demon Yuan Xiong in the Ascended Realm.

Furthermore, Ning Yao, Qi Tingji, Lu Zhi, and Criminal Officer Hao Su were about to draw the moon together with their swords, which was clearly a temporary change of mind, not the moon that Hao Su had traveled through.

When Ning Yao left, she glanced at the earth.

Chen Ping’an raised his head to look at her from afar, and then casually delivered a sword towards Mount Tuoyue.

It seemed to say that opening a mountain with a sword in the Fourteenth Realm was definitely not more difficult than practicing boxing a million times when he was a teenager.

Bai Ze chuckled.

Would he be able to stop them if he showed up, even if he accepted the sword challenge?